Graduate Certificate Emergency Preparedness in Public Health

(18 semester hours)

This certificate is designed for public health, environmental health, occupational health, and emergency professionals along with managers and educators who need to upgrade their skills in the area of protecting people in emergencies. HEA520 provides a solid preparation in fundamental skills such as epidemiology and public health practice, while ENV530 allows the student to learn how to identify, measure and control environmental hazards. ENV545 and ENV551 expand the student’s knowledge about risks and how they are measured, modeled and communicated. ENV570 and 575 focus on the specifics of emergency preparedness and on the mitigation of the risks of chemical and biological hazards.

The 18-credit certificate consists of the following courses:

HEA520: Public Health Epidemiology

ENV530: General Environmental Health

ENV545: Risk Assessment

ENV551: Environmental Toxicology

ENV570: Emergency Preparedness

ENV575: Bioterrorism & Public Health

All courses are taught in convenient evening and/or condensed formats, ideally suited to the working professional.

Additional Certificate Requirement

All students must hold a valid 40-hr certification in Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (OSHA 29 CFR Part 1910.120) and a valid certificate in First Aid/CPR at the time of award of the Emergency Preparedness certificate from WCU. These certifications are available at WCU or may be obtained elsewhere.

Faculty

Dr. Gopal Sankaran is an internationally trained physician and has a Master and Doctor of Public Health from the Graduate School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley. His specialties are infectious diseases and epidemiology.

Dr. Maura Sheehan earned her Doctorate in Industrial Hygiene from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH). Her research specialty is aerosol science and she evaluates control strategies for reducing worker exposure to airborne hazards.

Dr. Charles Shorten earned his Doctorate in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson University. He holds a Professional Engineer (PE) license from the Commonwealth of PA. Dr. Shorten has over ten years of experience with hazardous materials planning with the Chester County Local Emergency Planning Committee.